국립중앙박물관 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

Banquet of Queen Mother of the West

This folding screen illustrates a scene in which numerous Daoist immortals, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas are arriving at a banquet hosted by Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, at Jade Pond on Kunlunshan Mountain. In and after the nineteenth century, the theme of Xiwangmu’s banquet was favored among both commoners and the royal family. It was often applied to folding screens for festive rites like weddings as an emblem of auspiciousness. The distinct iconography and skillful portrayals of the figures suggest that this work is the creation of a court painter. Four panels currently remain, but the original two falling between what is now the first and second panels are missing. The absent panels are presumed to have depicted King Mu of Zhou, who visited Xiwangmu. Sacred peaches in a tray on the table in front of Xiwangmu in the first panel and the sacred peach trees in its lower portion add an indication of eternal youth to the painting.

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